Papua New Guinea’s Governor-General has been left red faced over a bank card issue left him out of Heathrow Airport’s VIP Lounge.
Sir Bobo Dadae and his party were on their way to Germany to celebrate PNG’s 50th Independence Anniversary with German Missionaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
But a technical issue with his bank card left him stranded outside the lounge. His Secretary, Bill Toraso, was also unable to use his card to pay for entry to the lounge.
The bank has said its restrictions on card use overseas were to protect clients from fraud, but an angry Toraso said the incident was embarrassing and disgraceful.
Toraso said that despite requesting that the Governor-General’s card be accessible overseas, the bank had failed to follow instructions.
On 30 June, the Governor-General’s Office sent an email requesting temporary lift on offshore and daily transaction limits on his official bank card to pay for hire cars, hotel accommodation and airport VIP lounges.
The restrictions, however, were not lifted.
A complaint has been raised with the banks, stating: “This level of negligence is completely unacceptable. Despite several emails and repeated phone calls, our request and concerns have been entirely ignored. I have emphasised the urgency of this matter multiple times, yet there has been no response or assistance from the bank.